Abstract
We report the different presentation features and clinical outcome between two identical infant twins with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia with a shared clonal disease and MLL gene rearrangement. One twin relapsed and died, but the other is in complete remission > 4 years after diagnosis. These data, and similar observations on other twin infants with leukaemia, suggest that despite a common clonal in utero, post-natally these leukaemias can evolve independently, at different rates, in the twinned individuals, and that the usually fatal leukaemia associated with t(4;11) MLL gene rearrangement can be effectively treated when the leukaemic burden is small.
Publication types
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Case Reports
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Comparative Study
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Bone Marrow / immunology
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Chromosomes, Human, Pair 4
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Clone Cells
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DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics
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Diseases in Twins / genetics*
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Female
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Gene Rearrangement
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Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase
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Humans
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Infant
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Karyotyping
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Myeloid-Lymphoid Leukemia Protein
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Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / genetics*
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Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / immunology
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Prognosis
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Proto-Oncogenes*
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Transcription Factors*
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Twins, Monozygotic*
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Zinc Fingers / genetics
Substances
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DNA-Binding Proteins
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KMT2A protein, human
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Transcription Factors
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Myeloid-Lymphoid Leukemia Protein
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Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase